Beans may hold the key to making our diets more sustainable and fighting climate change, according to research by academics at the University of Exeter. Swapping meat for plant-based foods like beans could trigger a “cascade of decarbonisation” capable of reducing deforestation, CO2 emissions and global malnutrition. With meat accounting for 60% of the planet’s food-production related greenhouse gas emissions, a shift towards beans and other protein-rich legumes could help to slash these emissions drastically and also free up land used for growing livestock feed. Eating legumes can improve soil health, regulate blood sugar, lower cholesterol, boost heart health, and reduce cancer risk.
Denmark has already embraced this concept, implementing government guidelines recommending a daily legume intake of 100g, which has been adopted by cooks and caterers in schools, nursing homes and municipal offices. This has led to a significant reduction in CO2 emissions in public canteens, and there are indications that the trend is now being practised at the consumer level also. However, the rest of the world lags behind Danish consumers, with consumption at an average of 10g per person, compared to up to 60kg per year in Kenya, Rwanda, and Burundi.
In the Netherlands, a coalition of academics, government departments and food industry representatives are aiming to double bean and pulse consumption by 2030. Developing clearer routes to market for legumes could help farmers to enter this lucrative protein market and endorse a protein transition away from traditional cereal crops, meat, and dairy. Wholefood retailer Hodmedod aims to catalyse this protein transition and works with British farmers to produce a range of home-grown beans including flamingo peas, smoked quinoa, coral lentils, and more. Government farming subsidies could also encourage farmers to use freed-up land for growing legumes.
Josiah Meldrum, who founded Hodmedod, believes that the UK’s industrialised farm model could eventually be phased out by cutting demand for pork and poultry. Average daily meat consumption in the UK fell by as much as 17% between 2009 and 2019, according to the Lancet. This reduction in meat consumption has led to significant growth in demand for beans and pulses in the UK, as they become the go-to replacement source of protein. Meldrum wants bean and pulse growers to gain a foothold in the government’s ‘dynamic procurement’ system, which aims to open the doors of public sector purchasing to smaller organisations and businesses
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